138 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2 02 Vol. 2 



Color in alcohol. — Background coloration brown, fins blacldsh or 

 dark brown; pectoral fin blacldsh, except broad distal edge, which is 

 clear or white on specimens longer than 200 mm., or in young and 

 half grown the pectoral fin is pale or clear; each scale on upper parts 

 of body with a vertically elongate dark spot; peritoneum pale. 



On specimens 77 and 80 mm. in standard length the caudal peduncle 

 and caudal fin are abruptly paler than brownish body forward of a 

 vortical line through rear edge of bases of dorsal and anal fins. 



The two Marshall Island specimens, 200 and 215 mm., have a large 

 light brown blotch in front of dorsal origin that extends below base of 

 dorsal fin to lateral line thence gradually fades as it extends posteriorly 

 to below base of soft dorsal ; a broad dark brown band behind eye, and a 

 narrow dark line forward on snout in front of eye; posterior margins 

 of scales blackish; dorsal fin v/ith dark edge distally, then submar- 

 ginally white, with a transverse or lengthwise narrow dark band 

 through middle of fin, basal third of dorsal pale or light brown; dark 

 blotch on membrane between first and third dorsal spines. 



The two specimens 35 and 37 mm. in standard length have traces 

 of four vertical bars, whereas the five smaller ones, 21 to 30 mm., have 

 four distinct narrow white vertical bars mth brown edges, the first 

 from front of spiny dorsal behind pectoral base then behind pelvic 

 bases, second from front of soft dorsal base to front of soft anal, third 

 between rear edges of dorsal and anal bases, fourth at base of caudal 

 fin; three black spots in dorsal, one in anal, one in each pelvic fin; 

 five narrow white streaks, with dark edges radiating from eye, one on 

 snout, one across interorbital space, two behind eye, and one below 

 across cheek, meeting its fellow ventrally on underside of head; 

 another white streak with dark edges from pectoral base across breast 

 in front of pelvics. 



Color when alive. — Dark brown or blackish. 



Ecology. — This species was not common on the shallow reefs and 

 seemed to prefer deeper water associated with coral growths. 



Genus WETMORELLA Fowier and Bean 



Wetmorella Fowler and Bean, U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 100, vol. 7, p. 211, 1928 

 (type species, Wetmorella philippina Fowler and Bean), 



Schultz and Marshall (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 103, pp. 439-447, 

 figs. 52-54, pi. 12, 1954) published a review of this genus and described 

 as new two species and one subspecies. Their study indicates, with- 

 out doubt, that Fowler (p. 358, 1931) and Weber and de Beaufort 

 (Fishes of the Indo-Austrahan Archipelago, vol. 8, p. 82, 1940) were 

 in error in referring Wetmorella philippina to the synonymy of Cheilinus 

 fasciatus (Bloch). 



